Who owns ORCHARD THIEVES HARD CIDER?

ORCHARD THIEVES HARD CIDER is owned by

HEINEKEN N.V.

Website

Orchard Thieves Cider is a brand of hard cider produced by Heineken N.V. Although it claims in its marketing materials that it “has a heritage in cider making that goes back 125 years,” the brand was in fact introduced in 2015. It was first introduced in Ireland, and is made in the company’s Cidery in Cork, Ireland. The product is now available in several markets worldwide.

When the brand launched in 2015, Heineken used the hashtag “#BeBold” to promote the product, and encouraged drinkers to “thieve a pint.” The product was originally designed with the Irish palette in mind, and consulted with over one thousand Irish cider drinkers participating in taste tests to help formulate the product.

Orchard Thieves cider uses apples from the Penrhos orchard in Wales, which at its height was about 300 acres. However in 2024, in the wake of waning demand for cider worldwide, Heineken decided to uproot the entirety of the orchard rather than letting it go to a potential competitor. The move was met with criticism from ecologists in the country, who said that it would threaten wintering thrushes in the area who used the orchard for shelter and foraging. Heineken defended the actions by saying that it was “incredibly important that we act responsibly and sustainably at all times.” In the end, the thousands of pounds of wood was shredded with wood chippers to be used for biomass incenerators.

That same year, Orchard Thieves introduced the “Wild Apple Cider” variety, which has 4 grams less per serving of sugar, and no artificial sweeteners. Its standard cider has 6.2 grams of sugar, while its Light Apple Cider has only 0.5 grams of sugar.

Popular Beers by this Brand

• Apple Cider
• Light Apple Cider
• Wild Apple Cider

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